How This Council Is Turning Commitment Into Action in 2026
Over the past month, we continued to turn commitment into action. We advanced partnerships, supported critical infrastructure financing, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our unions. Throughout it all, our work remained grounded in the values of justice and dignity that define the labor movement.
New Partnership With Align Real Estate
I am pleased to share that this council has entered into a new partnership with Align Real Estate, a local developer advancing major housing proposals across San Francisco. These projects have the potential to deliver thousands of new housing units citywide and, just as importantly, to create real work for building trades members.
As I shared publicly, our goal is simple: We want these projects to move forward the right way. That means strong labor standards, quality union jobs, and real community benefit. Working together, we look forward to building housing with Align and continuing to show that organized labor is not an obstacle to housing, but a key part of the solution.
“We stand ready to be partners in moving San Francisco forward, and we’ll keep showing up to make sure the comeback includes the people who build this city.”
Supporting Enhanced Infrastructure Finance Districts
In January, I represented this council at the Budget and Finance Committee meeting of the SF Board of Supervisors to support two new enhanced infrastructure finance districts (EIFDs). These districts are important public financing tools that allow cities to invest in the infrastructure projects needed to move housing and mixed-use developments forward. Streets, utilities, transit improvements, and public amenities all fall into that category.
EIFDs work by capturing a portion of future property tax growth within a defined area and reinvesting it back into that same area. In practical terms, they help to close financing gaps that often stall large projects and move developments from planning to construction. When used correctly, EIFDs create certainty, leverage private investment, and shorten timelines while delivering long-term public benefit.
I want to thank Budget and Finance Committee Chair Connie Chan for her leadership in advancing these EIFDs. The districts we supported will be key tools for our partners at Brookfield for the Stonestown project and Prado Group for the 3333 California Street and 3700 California Street developments.
For workers, this matters. EIFDs help ensure that projects break ground, infrastructure gets built, and union jobs are created. These tools align public investment with real outcomes and put our members to work while delivering housing and infrastructure our communities need.
Honoring UA Local 38
I was honored to represent this council at the installation of officers for UA Local 38, where Business Manager Larry Mazzola Jr. and his officers were sworn into a new term by Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The ceremony brought together more than 100 members and labor leaders from throughout the state, including California State Building and Construction Trades Council President Chris Hannan. It was a strong showing of unity and leadership across our movement.
I congratulate the officers and members of Local 38 and wish them continued success as they move forward together in solidarity.
State of the City: Momentum Must Mean Results
This month, many labor leaders, including several from the building trades, were invited to Lurie’s State of the City address. I appreciated being included with so many people who keep this city running, and I took the mayor’s remarks seriously because they spoke directly to issues our members live every day.
Lurie described a city gaining momentum and emphasized the need to make that progress durable. He spoke about restoring confidence downtown, cutting red tape through PermitSF, and moving toward a more coordinated permitting system by bringing SF Planning, the Department of Building Inspection, and the Permit Center together under one roof.
If the City is serious about affordability, then we must be serious about timelines, coordination, and accountability. That means fewer bottlenecks, clearer processes, and more certainty so that good projects can move from paper to reality more quickly.
What stood out most about Lurie’s address was the focus on families and working people. The mayor shared a story about a Local 38 plumber who grew up in San Francisco but now faces a long commute because the City has become so unaffordable. That’s the reality too many of our members are facing.
The message was clear: We need more housing, we need it faster, and we need to lower the cost pressures that push working families out.
For the building trades, the test is straightforward. This can’t just be a speech about recovery. It needs to translate into permits, shovel-ready projects, and jobs with strong labor standards.
We stand ready to be partners in moving San Francisco forward, and we’ll keep showing up to make sure the comeback includes the people who build this city.
Reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we’re reminded that the fight for workers’ rights has always been inseparable from the fight for civil rights and economic justice. King understood that dignity on the job, the right to organize, and access to well-paying work were fundamental to true freedom.
King spoke plainly about the moral responsibility to build an economy that works for everyone. He warned that “the greatest injustice is an empty stomach” and challenged our nation to confront systems that deny working people opportunity, stability, and respect.
He also reminded us that “all labor has dignity.” That belief sits at the heart of the building trades. Every day, our members build the infrastructure and housing that make our communities function. Our members deserve jobs that provide security, fairness, and a real pathway to the middle class.
Our responsibility is to keep pushing that arc forward — on the jobsite, in our communities, and in the public square. We do that by expanding opportunity, lifting up working families, and ensuring that economic progress is shared by the people who do the work.
Looking Ahead
As we move deeper into 2026, our focus remains clear and disciplined. We have to push projects forward, break ground, and get more of our members to work.
With strong partnerships, smart policy tools, and unwavering solidarity, we will continue building not just structures but opportunity, stability, and dignity for working families across San Francisco and the region.